Department of English

Established in 1945, the NCU English Departament in Toruń was closed for political reasons in 1952 (since in the Stalinist era English studies were viewed as potentially subversive), only to be re-opened in 1986. The first graduates completed their studies in 1992. In 2011 the Department was moved to a new site, one of the most modern university buildings in Poland.

All our students are provided with a good study environment. We have a library of approximately 2400 volumes, access to multimedia resources and well-equipped language laboratories. The best regular students may benefit from the agreements signed between the NCU and foreign universities and spend one or two semesters studying abroad; the Department also hosts Erasmus+ program foreign exchange students. Those students who would like to broaden their academic horizons beyond the core curriculum may engage in the work of the English Philology Club and pursue their artistic interests in the students’ theatre.

Study programmes

Our Departament has the right to confer the degrees of licencjat (B.A. equivalent) and magister (M.A. equivalent). It provides a dynamic scholarly environment for quality teaching, research and conferences in literary and culture studies (postcolonialism, SF and fantasy, postmodernism and feminism) and linguistics (cognitive stylistics and textual analysis, construction grammar, evolution of language, and translation studies). The three-year BA programme can be later continued for another two years for an M.A. specializing in Editing and Publishing, Language-Literature-Culture or Translation Studies.

The regular full-time B.A. and M.A. programmes (s1 and s2) have their part-time, weekend counterparts (n1 and n2). Part-time studies are an attractive alternative for those who want to receive a BA or an MA in English, but cannot participate in the regular weekday program because of job hours or family commitments and are prepared to pay a tuition fee. To make student-teacher contact more effective, some staff employ IT technologies of distance learning.

English Studies: B.A. programmes

On completion of the three-year-long study programme, the student will obtain a BA diploma and will have gained knowledge of Anglophone literature, culture, and linguistics. The undergraduate will have productive skills at B2+ level in compliance with the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. The skills, knowledge and social competence acquired will be an asset in such sectors as translation and interpreting, tourism, corporate services, public relations, marketing, advertising, and copy-writing. The student will be able to continue English studies in the MA programme.

The English Studies programme (full-time, BA cycle) is addressed to both Polish and non-Polish undergraduate students. It offers a combination of practical English courses and language studies field-specific seminars and lectures (British and American literature and culture, language acquisition, linguistics, contrastive and descriptive grammar). All subjects are taught in English (these also include Latin and foreign language courses read in English). The study programme comprises courses which should facilitate the undergraduates’ entry into the job market: English for specific purposes – translation laboratory, and business English.

The English Studies programme (part-time, BA cycle) is an alternative form of studying for those who cannot attend classes on a regular week-day basis. It is addressed to both Polish and non-Polish undergraduate students. The programme, including distance-learning components, offers a combination of practical English courses and language studies field-specific seminars and lectures (British and American literature, culture, language acquisition, and linguistics). All the subjects are taught in English. The study programme comprises courses which should facilitate the undergraduates’ entry into the job market: English for specific purposes translation and tests, English on the labour market, and business English.

English Studies: M.A. programmes

On completion of either of the two-year-long study programmes, the student will obtain an MA diploma and will have gained thorough knowledge and skills within specialisation fields. The graduate will have productive skills at C1+ level in compliance with the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. Depending on the programme, skills, knowledge and social competence acquired will be an asset in such sectors as translation and interpreting, copy-editing, publishing, digital publishing, tourism, corporate services, public relations, marketing, advertising, business communication. The student will be able to continue English studies in the PhD programme.

Graduate students can select one of the above programmes. Each of them offers unique specialisation courses which target latest developments in their respective disciplines: copy-editing, textual scholarship, digital and desktop publishing, Anglophone book and magazine analysis; Anglophone mass media, culture, politics, literature and society; translation and interpreting skills and theory. Apart from attending such programme-specific classes, students also participate in language-study seminars (in literature, culture and linguistics), practical English courses, business English classes and translation laboratories. The three programmes are addressed to both Polish and non-Polish undergraduates. Each student can complete an additional separate programme (partly in Polish), which offers teaching qualifications valid in Polish schools (primary, secondary and high levels of education).

The English Studies programme (part-time, MA cycle) is an alternative form of studying for those who cannot attend classes on a regular week-day basis. The programme, including distance-learning components, offers a combination of practical English courses and language studies field-specific specialisation seminars and lectures (literature, culture, language teaching, and linguistics). All the subjects are taught in English. The programme is addressed to both Polish and non-Polish undergraduate students.

Courses for foreigners

All our regular study programmes (both full-time and part-time) are open to both Polish and foreign nationals. However, apart from these B.A. and M.A.-level programmes, we offer the following Intensive Courses in English for Academic Purposes:

300 hours (one semester / summer courses) – 1.300 EURO

600 hours (two semesters) – 2.600 EURO

The B2 course aims at the development of such skills as speaking, writing, reading and listening. The main focus is on communicative exercises based on real situations in which the English language is used. There are October and February intakes. Classes are arranged into four meetings and one day is left for extracurricular activities. A typical weekly timetable includes twenty hours: eight hours of reading and speaking activities, four hours of contextualised grammar classes, four hours of writing and speaking exercises, and four hours of revision tasks and testing.